From your birth, you started on a journey. As a new being, you were pure, not yet aware of what was all around you. But eventually, your culture and the socialization process enveloped you in its language, customs, and beliefs. Over time, layer upon layer of these social and cultural artifacts surrounded your core self. And eventually your individual consciousness assumed the identity, the persona, of who you became.
The archaeological “dig” allows for removal of layer upon layer of debris to discover significant artifacts that define a culture/society. The same concept applies to you as an individual. For a moment, let’s go on a “dig” to find the core “artifacts” of your own persona. Once you’ve discovered buried pieces of yourself, you can then reincorporate these pieces back into your life.
Imagine yourself as you are today, at seventy or twenty, or anywhere in between. Describe yourself as you are now. Are you satisfied with who you are, or do you feel as if something is missing? If you feel that something is missing, start digging.
The archaeological “dig” allows for removal of layer upon layer of debris to discover significant artifacts that define a culture/society. The same concept applies to you as an individual. For a moment, let’s go on a “dig” to find the core “artifacts” of your own persona. Once you’ve discovered buried pieces of yourself, you can then reincorporate these pieces back into your life.
Imagine yourself as you are today, at seventy or twenty, or anywhere in between. Describe yourself as you are now. Are you satisfied with who you are, or do you feel as if something is missing? If you feel that something is missing, start digging.
What are the “artifacts,” the identifying characteristics and traits that most clearly describe you through your life? Are these essentially the same throughout your life, or are certain “artifacts” more prominent during a certain period(s) of your life?
Are there pieces of yourself that you neglected to pay attention to and/or didn’t nurture?
Are there parts of yourself that you discarded along the way?
Were there life events that got in the way, preventing you from accomplishing what you wanted to do, or from adequately expressing a specific side of yourself?
What specific activities, opportunities, or challenges were you not given a chance to do?
What essential things do you feel you lacked developmentally?
What do you feel you most needed but didn’t get?
What special skills or gifts were not acknowledged or encouraged?
It’s never too late to “discover” lost pieces of yourself. The more you learn about yourself, the more capable you are of changing your perspectives and, by doing so, broadening your own horizons.
Author and Credits: Abigail Brenner, M.D.